Italian Military Delegation Discusses Cooperation with Libya

A delegation from the Italian Ministry of Defence held a meeting with their Libyan counterparts to discuss joint cooperation.

The meeting was held in Tripoli, in the presence of the Italian Military Cooperation Committee and its Libyan counterpart. This is the first meeting of the two committees in 2023.

On Sunday, the Libyan Ministry of Defence said that the meeting comes “within the framework of the joint military-technical cooperation between the Libyan and Italian Defence Ministries.”

The two sides discussed a number of issues of common interest, with the aim of developing joint bilateral cooperation.

The cooperation plan for the year 2022-2023 was also reviewed, and the target plan for the year 2024 was prepared.

Notably, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received her Libyan counterpart Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba in Rome, on Wednesday.

The Libyan interim Premier was accompanied by Foreign Minister; Najla Al-Mangoush, Acting Minister of Interior; Emad Al-Trabelsi, Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs; Walid Al Lafi, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC); Farhat Bengdara, and the Head of the Libyan Holding Company for Telecommunications.

During their meeting, Meloni said that political stability in Libya is a priority for Italy’s national security.

The Italian PM added that Libya “remains a strategic economic partner for Italy.” She also stressed how important it is “to hold Libyan presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible,” and added that “Italy will continue to work to guarantee the success of the United Nations mediation.

Meanwhile, Dbaiba stressed the need to take actual steps to facilitate the granting of visas to Libyan citizens, indicating the importance of bilateral relations and supporting and developing them in all fields in order to achieve the common interests of the two peoples.

They also discussed the follow-up of the work of the bilateral committees to lift the airspace embargo on Libyan civil aviation, and the establishment of the Libyan-Italian Higher Committee. In addition to the convening of the Libyan-Italian Economic Forum on the sidelines of the committee’s first meeting.

The meeting also touched on the joint efforts to tackle illegal migration, and cooperation in the fields of energy and waste management.

This renewed focus on unity and stability in Libya signals a potential turning point in Italian-Libyan relations. The signing of recent agreements and continued high-level meetings underline Italy’s commitment to actively contribute to Libya’s political and economic recovery.